Variable-speed drive



Jan. 24, 1950 R. M NARDONE 2,495,470

VARIABLE s'PEEn DRIVE Filed May 23, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN'I'OR.

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' 1950 R. M. NARDONE VARIABLE SPEED DRIVE 3 Sheets-Sheet '2 Filed May 25, 194s m6 Nu INVENTOR.

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Patented Jan. 24;, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Romeo M. Nardone, Teaneck, Joseph J. Mascuch, Millburn,

N. J asslgnor to N. J.

Application May 23, 1946, Serial No. 671,786 1 Claim. (01. 74-194) This invention relates to variable speed drive imechanisms such as are attached to constant speed motors to vary their shaft speed output.

The broad object of vide a light, compact range of shaft speeds may given motor. 7

Another object of this invention is to produce the speed variations in two stages thereby reducing the required size of the unit.

A feature of this invention is the novel method of moving the driven ring and hub with respect this invention is to prodevice whereby a large be derived from any A further feature this invention is the centrifugal flexible type clutch used to transmit the rotary motion from the motor to the drive mechanism.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device whereby a large number of speeds may be selected by the manipulation of only two controls.

A more specific object of this invention is to vary the speed of constant speed motors operat- P.'M. between 200 R. P. M.

and 1700 R. P. M. p

The invention consists of the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as herein 1 illustrated, described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, is illustrated one Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a complete the invention. I Figure 2 is a cross-section of the variable speed taken on line 22 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectionof the centrifugal clutch. I

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view, partly in elevation, of the control mechanism of the invention.

Figure 5 is a view taken on line 5-5 in Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by the Figure 6 is a view in elevation of the pinion gear.

' Figure 7 is a view in elevation of the driving plate.

- Figure 8 is a longitudinal section of the speed shifting sleeve member.

Figure 9 is an end view of the sleeve shown in Figure 8.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly Figure 1, l0 indicates a metalhousing shell proform of embodiment of the invention, in which drawings similar reference characters designate corresponding parts, and in which: v

vided with an opening H at its right hand end. A ball bearing I2 is mounted within the opening I i to rotatably support the shaft l3 of a constant speed motor (not shown). A driving plate I4 is splined to the shaft l3 within the shell IB.' The plate l4 comprises part of a centrifugal flexible type of clutch I5, best shown in Figure 3.

v The clutch member i5 is held to the motor shaft l3 by the plate [4. A plurality of holes l6 are drilled in the face of the plate l5 at a 45 angle to the axis thereof and around its rim.

Each hole l6 contains a steel ball I1 freely sliding therein. A plurality of equally spaced holes 18 are also located at intervals around the plate rim. These holes 18 are drilled parallel to the axis of the plate I4 and seat coil springs l9 to maintain the alignment of the clutch plates 20, '22. The holes l6 drilled into the face of the plate Mdivide its peripheral rim into a plurality of segments into which the steel balls H can roll.

The clutch plates 20, 22 are slipped into the socket formed by the driving plate l4 and its peripheral rim 2|. The outer clutch plates 20 are notched to receive the segments of the rim.

. In this manner the steel balls [1 come to bear upon the plates 20 when they roll toward the openings of their bores l3. Each inner clutch plate 22 is internally splined and engages a hub 23 which is keyed to the input shaft 24 of the variable speed drive. A rubber ring 25 is interposed between the clutch discs 22 and the hub 23 and is bonded to the said hub. A retaining cup'26 completes the clutch assembly and slips over the driving plate l4 so as to enclose the clutch. I

The input shaft 24 of the variable speed drive is supported at its motor end in a ball bearing 21 which is mounted in a transverse wall 28 of the housing 10, as shown in Figure 1. The opposite end of the shaft 24 is rotatably held I by needle bearings 29 mounted in a socket 3D in the output shaft 3| of the unit. Splined to the output end of the input shaft 24 is an externally toothed gear member 32 which carries a sleeve 33, shown in detail in Figures 8 and 9. The sleeve 33 is provided with internal teeth 34 and two spaced annular collars 35. Three positioning bores 36 are drilled in the sleeve 33 and receive a spring pressed detent 31 which is held by the gear member 32. The sleeve 33' is movable endwise so that its teeth 34 can engage either of two transmission'gears 38, 39. "'1'.

The high speed transmission gear 38 is pressed and pinned to the hollow shaft 40 which has a driving gear 4| at the other end thereof. The

" in fixed relationship with each other. hand face of the retainer 52 lies parallel to a low speed transmission gear 39 is integral with a sleeve 42, upon the other end of which is keyed the low speed driving gear 43. The sleeve 42 rotates upon the hollow shaft 40, which in turn is freely mounted upon the input shaft 24.

A pinion 44, freely rotatable upon a drive shaft 45, is meshed with the high speed gear 4! at all times. The shaft 45 is mounted in needle bearings 46 on its motor end, and the housing 41 thereof journaled in a roller bearing 48 which is supported by the transverse wall 28. A low speed driven gear 49 is attached to the pinion 44 in such manner that it may be considered part of the said pinion 44. This gear 49 is in mesh with the low speed driving gear 42 at all times.

The output or left hand face of the low speed driven gear 49 is provided with three arcuate grooves 50, best shown in Figure 6. 'A steel ball 5| is slidably retained within each of these grooves 50 for a hereinafter described purpose.

3A retainer 52 adjacent the low speed gear 49 holds the steel balls 5i against the gear 49 and The left driving plate 53. The shaft 45 ispressed into the driving plate 53 so as to be part thereof. The plate 53, and consequently the output end of the shaft 45, are supported by a roller bearin 54,

' held by a wall 55 mediate the housing shell 15. The right hand face of the driving plate. 53, shown in Figure 7, has milled therein three arcuate grooves 55 identical to those in the lowspeed gear -49, and for the same purpose. A coil spring 56, slipped over the drive shaft 45,. separates the gear 43 and the plate 53.

By'referring again to Figure 1, it can be seen that a driven ring 5? is held by a shaft 58 so that its edge 59 bears against the plate 53. The upper end of the shaft 55 is provided with a beveled. pinion 53 integral therewith. Bearings 6|, held by a transverse brace 52 of the housing I9, support the shaft 53 at its upper end. The bottom of the shaft 58 is rotatably held by a ball bearing 63 which is mounted upon the housing shell H A bevel gear 54, integral with the right hand end of the output shaft 3!, is in mesh with the pinion 55. The output shaft 3! projects through an openin 55 in the housing shell H3,

' and is supported by roller bearings. 65, 61 held within the said shell.

adjacent the opening 55 prevents foreign ma- "terial from entering the drive mechanism.

'As indicated, in dotted lines in Figure 2, the

driven ring 51 may be moved up and down upon the shaft 58 to which it is keyed. This .motion isthe result of the operation of a yoke 69 which i engages a groove 19 of the ring 51. The said yoke 69 is integral with an internally threaded sleeve 1! which is engaged by a worm 12. R0-

tation of a knob 13, attached to the worm 12, causes the yoke 59 to raise or lower the driven ring 51. This in turn causes the edge 59 of the said rin to bear upon the driving plate 53 at I various distances from the center of said plate A transparent Window E4, shown in Figure 4,

v is located in the shell housing 1!] opposite the yoke 69. Numbers designating the speed of the output shaft are inscribed on the said window.

.Thus the yoke 69 may be moved up or down until its position coincides with the desired speed of the output shaft indicated by the numbers on the window 14. deliver one of two speeds, depending upon the At this point the unit will An-oil seal 58 located setting of the second control lever 15, shown in Figure 2.

The control lever is located above the window 14 on the housing shell II). It is pinned to a shaft 16 which is rotatably held by a nut 11 in the housing H]. An arm 18 is secured to the end of the shaft 16 and is provided with a shoe 19 for the purpose of engaging the sleeve 33. The shoe 19 fits Within the space provided between the two collars 35 on the sleeve 33 and translates the rotation of the control lever 15 into endwise movement of the sleeve 33.

The operation of the variable speed drive becomes apparent from the foregoing description of" its construction. When the constant speed motor is energized it rotates its shaft 13, causing the driving plate I4 attached to it, to revolve. The steel balls 11 in the sockets l5 of the plate (4- are forced to the outer extremity thereof by reason of centrifugal force. The pressure of the steel balls l1 upon the clutch plates 20, 22 transmits the drive from the motor shaft 13 to the input shaft 24 of the variable speed'drive. The input shaft 24 turns the gear member 32 attached thereto and also the sleeve 33 splined to the outside of the gear 32. The sleeve teeth 34 engage one of the transmission gears 33, 39, depending upon the. position of the control lever 15. The motion of the engaged transmission gear is transferred to its driving gear and from there to either the pinion 44 or the driven gear 49 as tion of the driven gear 49, toward the narrow ends of the arcuate grooves 50. The spacemaintained between the driven gear 49 and the driving plate 53 by the coil spring 56 is now bridged by the steel balls 5| and the power from the driven gear 49 transmitted to the driving plate 53.

Since the driving plate 53 bears against the edge of the driven ring 51, it drives it by the friction of the butting surfaces. It is elementary that the speed of rotation of the ring 51 may be varied without changing the rate of rotation of the driving plate 53, by moving it closer to or away from the center thereof. Thus, for any set ting of the control lever 15, a complete range of speeds may be secured by the expedient of turning the knob 13 and thereby changing the position of the ring 51 on the plate 53. By reversing the position of the control lever 15, a complete new range of speeds become available. The speed of the driven ring 51 is translated into rotation of the output shaft 3| by the operation of the pinion 60 and the bevel gear 64. The speed of the output shaft for any setting of the controls may be read directly on the Window 14.

It is possible by providing the input shaft with a multiple speed motor, to further increase the range of available speeds of the output shaft 3|. It is also within the purview of this invention to provide more than two possible speeds of the drive plate 53 by increasing the number of transmission gears within the unit.

Having thus fully described th invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured b Letters Patent of the United States, is:

In a variable speed drive for use with a source of rotary power, an input shaft, an output shaft, clutch couplin the source of rotary power to the said input shaft, a multi- "speed transmission driven by the input shaft, said transmission terminating in a ball and cam activated drive plate, a driven ring having its edge in frictional engagement with the face of the plate, said ring being geared to the output shaft, and means comprising a knob, a rotatable worm attached to the knob, a sleeve threaded upon the REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Demholter Jan. 14, 1908 Hardinge Feb. 28, 1911 Sykora Dec. 27, 1921 Smalley May 30, 1922' Swennes Feb. 1, 1938 Lenney Oct. 22, 1940 Schuckers Feb. 27, 1945 

